Veiled Identities, Hidden truths
by Holiday
Summary: Danielle is smart mouthed girl, trying to find a place to belong in New York. Please R&R!
1. Part 1

Hello fellow Newsie lovers! I've posted this to the NML, but for some reason not here.  Just thought I'd share it with ya…Please Read!  

Disclaimer: I own Danielle.  Other people own everything else. Oh wait! I own Holiday too. *nods* Almost forgot that one.

~*~*Danielle*~*~

I stared at the boy sitting on the ground across from me in the middle of the street.  He had run into me, knocking us both off our feet.  I have to admit though, if I had to be knocked to the ground I was happy it was by this boy.  He was handsome.

"I…um…I'm sawry Miss." The black haired boy said as he stood up.

I laughed at that.  Not many people called me 'Miss'.  You see, I was a child of the streets.  A street rat if you prefer.  Such formalities were never used.  

"Don' worry about it Mistah." I couldn't resist mocking him.

He blushed and offered a hand to help me up.  Not being one to turn down a kind offer, I accepted with a grin.

"So, where you goin' in such a hurry?" I asked curiously, bending over to pick up my satchel.

He frowned slightly. "Why?"

"Just curious is all." I shrugged, turning to walk away.  "See ya 'round handsome."

Turning the corner allowed me one last look at his surprised face.  I smiled and continued on my quest to nowhere.  

I had been in New York for nearly two weeks and I had yet to find a good place to live.  I had tried a boarding house for girls, but I didn't like that.  Okay, okay, I got thrown out.  Literally.  To make a long story short, I started a fight and got thrown out on my butt.

And that's why I found myself searching for a nice warm….Newsboys Lodging House?  I had unconsciously stopped in front of a rather bleak building with that sign just shouting out at me. 

NEWSBOYS LODGING HOUSE!

I smiled and ducked into an alley on the side of the building.  I can be a newsboy if that's what it takes.  I pulled my small dagger out of my shoe and proceeded to cut my long, light brown hair.  I never really liked it anyway; too much trouble keeping it out of my face.  My blue skirt was replaced by black pants and suspenders from my satchel.  I pulled out a black cap and stuffed my skirt inside the bag.  I had worn these clothes when I first came to New York and I stole the skirt off a clothes line shortly after arriving.

"Alright.  I just hafta remember dat I'm supposed to be a boy."  I said to myself.  This meant no flirting with the boys. "This is gonna be hard."

I started walking back out of the alley, but I tripped over my feet and landed in a pile of garbage near the wall.

"Well ain't dis nice." I muttered miserably.  Have I mentioned that I can be annoyingly clumsy at times?  Apparently this was one of them.

I had to stick my hands into the garbage in order to get back to my feet, and when I pulled my hand out, I was clutching a pair of gold rimmed glasses.  Well it was made to look like gold.  The gold stuff on the outside was chipping off, and I could see that it was really just some ugly metal.  I shrugged and settled the glasses on my nose, deciding that they would be a nice addition to my disguise.

When I finally made it out of the alley, I took a deep breath.  "Dis bettah woik."

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So? What didja think? Please Review! I'll love ya forever! Hopefully I'll get the next part up soon. I have it…just have to load it.  Maybe if you review….hehe.

Alohas, 

~*Holiday*~


	2. Part 2

_Thanks to these wonderful, wonderful people for reviewing:_

Moneybags: Yes I am going to try to write more of this one. Now I've got three stories going and I'm beginning to wonder what's wrong with me.

Snipah Higgins: Thank you for the review. Makes me feel special :)

Miracle: Thank you to you too! Hopefully (with a little luck) I'll be able to keep this one going.

_And here's more for you lovely people!_

~*~*Bumlets*~*~

"Bums, we're ovah heah." Pie Eater was waving a hand in my face when I snapped out of my daydream.  

I looked over at my friends and grinned.  "Sawry."

"What were ya starin' at?" Pie Eater asked glancing over his shoulder to see if he could see anything.

I looked over his shoulder too.  There was an empty table behind him as well as the door to the kitchen of the restaurant.  But nothing interesting to look at.

"There's nothing there but a table an' da back door." Skittery told him for me.

"I wasn' looking at anything.  Just thinking."

"Sure…." They replied at the same time.

I didn't like the look that came into their eyes after they said that.  It usually meant that they were going to annoy me into telling them whatever they wanted to know; which in this case would be what had happened on my way to Tibby's.  I hate when they do that.

"Don' start.  I'll tell ya."  I sighed.  They both grinned knowingly and I had to resist the urge to knock their heads together. "On my way heah, I ran into dis goil."

"A goil huh?" Pie Eater smirked.

"Yes a goil.  I ran into her in da middle of da street an' we both ended up on da ground."

Skittery laughed.  "Bumlets, when they tell ya you're supposed to sweep a goil off her feet with your charm, they don't mean it like that."

"Very funny."  

"So what'd she look like?"

"I dunno."  I replied with a shrug.

I didn't really know how to describe her to them.  I didn't want to say she was pretty.  I mean, she _was_ pretty in her own way; her eyes were a nice enough blue and her body was kind of nice from what I could see.  And her smile.  Her smile was beautiful.

But do you think I wanted to tell Skitts and Pie that?  No.  They wouldn't agree with me if they saw her anyway.

"She was kinda plain.  Not very pretty." I said with a shrug.  Not like they'll ever see her.

"Not pretty huh?  Den how come you're daydreamin' about her?" Pie Eater asked, finishing off the sandwich he had been eating.

"I wasn't daydreamin'." I argued, shoving my hat back on my head. "I was thinking.  Da goil was just different." I said pulling some change out of my pocket to pay for my meal.

"Whatevah you say Bumlets."  Skittery said following my example and putting some money on the table.

"Come on lets go before you two drive me crazy with dese questions."  I stood up and moved away from our table.

They both laughed and we left the restaurant.

I was relieved that the subject was soon forgotten and our conversation moved on to a more interesting topic.  Skittery's socks.

~*~*Danielle*~*~

"Can I help you?"  An old man asked me a few minutes after I stepped into the building.

I looked over at him and smiled, "Yes, I think ya can.  I need a place ta stay an' I was hopin' I'd be able to stay heah."

The old man looked at me carefully before nodding and opening up a ledger.  He muttered a few things to himself before looking back at me.

"There are a few empty bunks and you'll need to pay…"

And that's all I heard.  Sure I should have listened, but I was more curious in the looks of this place that was to be my new home than I was about rules.  Come now, do I really seem like the type to follow the rules?

I scanned the lobby-like room that I was in and decided right there, that this was nicer than most places I had stayed in.  It was rather clean and there had been a few attempts to make the place look more homely.  I smiled at the sampler hanging by the stairs.  
Speak The Truth.

Well it certainly isn't a rule I live by, but it was a nice thought.

"….every night so I know who came in."  I looked over at the old man as his words came floating back to my ears.  I had no idea what he had just said so I nodded and waited for him to continue.  "I'm Kloppman, by the way."

"Heya Kloppman.  I'm Danny."  The name flowed easily off my tongue and I liked the sound of it.

"Okay Danny, like I said five cents is the pay.  Here's where you sign."

I took the pen he handed to me and stared at it.  Now, I hate weakness, and not being able to write is a weakness that I wished I didn't have.  I looked back up at Kloppman and dropped the pen on the counter.  I can't lie about not being able to write.

"Alright, just find me or one of the other newsies when you need to sign in."  He said not skipping a beat.  I guess this had happened a few times before.

"Thanks.  I'll just go find the bunkroom."  I half-smiled, walking towards the stairs.

Just then a male voice echoed throughout the lodging house, "PUNKY!!" 

I looked up the stairs to see a brown-haired girl sprinting towards me full speed, with a boy following close behind.  I noticed that the girl was grinning like crazy and the boy looked furious.

Side stepping them, I blinked and turned back to the stairs.

"At least I won't be bored."  I mumbled to myself.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I looked down the hall.  There were a few doors and I, of course, had no idea where I was going.

"Lost?"

I turned around and found myself face to, well, neck with another girl.  She was tall!  At least to me; I'm really short so I suppose that would make sense right?  I took a step back and looked up at the girl.

"Yeah, I'm tryin' to find da bunkroom." I said.

"Da boys' bunkroom right?" She asked leading me towards a door.

I gave her a funny look and nodded.  It's a BOYS lodging house, isn't it?  I figured this girl must have a guy that lives here.

"It's right heah." She opened a door and stepped inside.  "I'm Moneybags by da way."

"Um…Danny." I said, distracted.  There weren't that many guys in right now considering it was still kind of early, but the ones that were in were mostly gathered in a corner of the room playing a card game.  "What're dey playin'?"

Moneybags looked over at the corner then back at me, "Looks like pokah."

"Hey Moneybags!  Come join us."  A boy with black hair and a cigar called.

"Gimme a minute, Race." She replied pointing me towards an empty bunk. "You can sleep heah.  Bumlets will be above ya.

I made a face, "Sorry to be rude, but Bumlets, Moneybags, and Race?  What kind a names are those?"

She laughed, "Nicknames.  You'll hafta get one too if you're gonna be a newsie."

"Woo."  I said unenthusiastically.

She smiled and started to walk away. "If you wanna join da game, come over."

"Hey, thanks."  I called.

"No problem kid."  She replied over her shoulder.

I wrinkled my nose at being called a kid and after throwing my satchel on the bed, ran after her to join the game.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

How was it? Reviewers get a kiss from your favorite newsie! I'll have more out in a day or so.

Alohas,  
~*Holiday*~


	3. Part 3

_Thanks to these wonderful, wonderful people for reviewing:_

Cowgirl: Thanks for reading!

Moneybags: Don't throw things at me!  I'm a bit late, but yesterday I went to the movies with my friend so I couldn't get this out.  But here's the next part. I don't remember if I sent this to the list or not….do you?

Miracle: Poor Spot! LoL, j/j.  Good luck catching him!  And if I need another character I'll definitely use you! Thanks!

Sphinx: Okay, I will *nods* That's very good incentive! Thanks for reading!

Angelfish7: Hmm….that's a very good idea! That would be most amusing!

Snipah Higgins: "patient" ;-)  Thank you so much for reviewing!__

I know this part is short, but it was either this or nothing till I get the next part. Which hopefully will be soon (have to make a few plot decisions).

~*~*Bumlets*~*~

The bunkroom was filling up by the time we got there and there was a rowdy game of poker going on in the corner.

"Looks like we got some entertainment for da night."  Pie Eater said, heading for the corner.  Skittery clapped me on the shoulder and followed him to the game.

I moved over to my bunk and sat there for a few minutes trying to decide what to do.

"Gonna join da game Bumlets?"

I looked over at the green-eyed girl staring down at me.  "Not dis time Hol."

"So boring." She laughed.

"Why aren't you over dere?" I asked.  Poker was Holiday's favorite game….even if she was terrible at it.

"All cleaned out for da night." She grinned.  Terrible and proud of it.  "Dere's a new guy an' he's real good."

"New guy huh?  Potential boyfriend?"  I teased.  Holiday wasn't really into the whole romance scene at the moment, having had bad experiences in the past.

She laughed dryly, "Very funny."

"Hey Holiday, Bumlets."  Moxie greeted, joining us.

"Heya Moxie."  Holiday and I said at the same time.  I looked up at her and she glared at me.

Moxie laughed, "Save your bickering.  I don't want to hear it."

Holiday broke her glare and mumbled about her not bickering.

I shrugged and got up.  "I'm gonna watch da game."

Holiday seemingly ignored me and I ruffled her hair as I walked by.

"Hey!"  She cried out.

Moxie laughed and shook her head, "Alright well I'm going back the girl's room."

"Why do you read so much?"  Holiday asked following her friend.

"Cause it's fun and you stop yakking in my ear when you know I'm not listening."

"Gee, dat's nice."  Holiday muttered before they walked out of my hearing distance.

Turning my attention to the poker game I noticed a small boy, who could be anywhere from 14 to 17, with a rather large pile of winnings next to him.  The others in the game, Race, Punky, Skittery, Blink, Snitch, and Blizzard, all had very small piles next to them.

"I sweah I've nevah seen such luck!"  Race exclaimed, after losing on the last hand.

"He's gotta be cheating."  Punky, who had folded, declared.

I didn't know about cheating, but I was as surprised at the newcomers luck as Race was.

"Hey Calliope," I whispered to the blonde haired girl next to me, "What's da new guy's name?"

"Danny."  She answered not taking her eyes off her boyfriend, Kid Blink.

I nodded and looked back over at Danny, who was now staring at me funny.  I tried smiling at him, but his eyes only widened and his cheeks flushed red.  Okay…never had that happen before.

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Reviews are much appreciated! *hands out pocket newsies to reviewers*

Alohas,  
~*Holiday*~


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